Asia

Mechanical elephants, homemade howitzers as India turns 75

by Aishwarya KUMAR Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India marked the 75th anniversary of independence on Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving a speech from Delhi’s historic Red Fort, which was decorated with portraits of freedom fighters and guarded by mechanical elephants. Following a 21-gun salute, reportedly executed using howitzers made domestically for the first time under Modi’s “Make In India” industrial strategy, the prime minister said Indians should shed “colonialism in […]

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South Korea offering large-scale aid package for North’s nukes

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday he will offer a wide-ranging aid package to the North in return for denuclearization, a deal long seen as a non-starter for Pyongyang. The proposal comes days after the North threatened to “wipe out” Seoul authorities over a recent Covid-19 outbreak and less than a month after leader Kim Jong Un said his country was “ready to mobilize” its nuclear capability in any […]

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US lawmakers to meet Taiwan president as China seethes

  by Catherine LAI Agence France Presse United States lawmakers were set to meet Taiwan’s president on Monday days after China reacted to a similar visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with huge military drills that raised fears of conflict. The unannounced two-day trip came after Beijing sent warships, missiles and jets into the waters and skies around Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China’s leaders claim and have vowed to one day seize. The five-member […]

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Hong Kong censors animated film over one-second protest scene

Hong Kong, China | AFP | Hong Kong has banned the screening of an award-winning animated short film over a one-second depiction of the city’s 2014 democracy protests, a film society said Friday, as Beijing maintains its chokehold on free speech in the finance hub. The Ground Up Film Society told AFP that it cancelled a Sunday screening of “Losing Sight of a Longed Place” at their film festival after Hong Kong authorities would not […]

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Indonesia, US troops hold live-fire drill as China tensions mount

Baturaja, Indonesia | AFP | Thousands of troops from Indonesia, the United States and allies held a live-fire drill Friday as part of what a top US general said was Washington’s efforts to prevent a regional conflict after China’s “destabilising actions” around Taiwan. The United States and its Asian allies have expressed growing concern about China’s increasing assertiveness in the Pacific, but Washington said the drills were not aimed at any nation even though they […]

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Iran seeks 3 more Khayyam satellites

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) – Iran plans to commission three more versions of a satellite launched this week by Russia, Tehran’s government spokesman said Friday. The Khayyam blasted into orbit on Tuesday, prompting US accusations that it is intended for spying. Iran dismissed Washington’s claim as “childish.” “The construction of three other Khayyam satellites with the participation of Iranian scientists is on the government’s agenda,” its spokesman Ali Bahadori-Jahromi said on Twitter. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket sent […]

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Australian economist pleads not guilty at Myanmar junta trial: source

Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | An Australian economist detained by Myanmar’s junta has pleaded not guilty to breaching the colonial-era official secrets act, a source close to the case said on Friday. Sean Turnell was working as an adviser to Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi when he was detained shortly after the coup that ousted her government in February last year. On trial in a secretive junta court that journalists cannot access, he […]

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Sri Lankan ex-leader arrives in Bangkok after fleeing protests

Bangkok, Thailand | AFP | Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday arrived in Bangkok after his visa ran out following a month-long stint in Singapore where he had taken refuge from protesters at home. The deposed leader landed on a private jet at Don Mueang International Airport around 8pm local time (1200 GMT), a senior Thai official said. He left the airport’s VIP section around 40 minutes later with his wife and got […]

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Hong Kong sees population drop as 113,200 residents leave over the past year

Hong Kong, China | AFP | Hong Kong saw a net outflow of 113,200 residents over the past year, census data showed Thursday, setting a new record in population decline as the city maintained strict pandemic curbs. The finance hub’s population started shrinking in 2020 for the first time since the SARS epidemic in 2003 — and the drop-off showed no signs of stopping, according to government figures. Mid-year estimates put Hong Kong’s population at […]

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Samsung boss gets presidential pardon: South Korea justice minister

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The heir and de facto leader of Samsung group received a presidential pardon Friday, the latest example of South Korea’s long tradition of freeing business leaders convicted of corruption on economic grounds. Billionaire Lee Jae-yong, who was convicted of bribery and embezzlement in January last year, will be “reinstated” to give him a chance to “contribute to overcoming the economic crisis” of the country, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said. Lee […]

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Taiwan holds military drill after China repeats threats

by Catherine Lai Agence France-Presse TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s army held another live-fire drill Thursday after Beijing ended its largest-ever military exercises around the island and repeated threats to bring the self-ruled democracy under its control. Beijing has raged at a trip to Taiwan last week by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — the highest-ranking elected American official to visit in decades — staging days of air and sea drills around the island that […]

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North Korea declares ‘victory’ over Covid, says Kim had fever

  by Claire Lee Agence France-Presse  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s Kim Jong Un declared a “shining victory” over Covid-19 as his sister revealed he had fallen ill during the outbreak, which she blamed on Seoul, state media said Thursday. Addressing a meeting of health workers and scientists, Kim announced a “victory… in the war against the malignant pandemic disease”, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The isolated country, which has […]

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